Week 5

1. Copy and paste a quote from each of the chapters that causes you to have a strong reaction (agreement, disagreement, confusion...) and explain your reaction.

"Language, in both written and oral form has been and continues to be, the primary way humans communicate with one another. Written language has dominated cultural and educational institutions for many centuries, allowing them to record and archive their existence. Print-based, written language is valuable form of representation. Legal documents, the novel, and the college dissertation carry with them social capital and are valuable commercial and social texts."

I strongly agree with this quote. Written language is still the primary form of communication. Students would rather send a text or use social media to communicate. I think the reason is that they can hold several communications at once. 
I also agree with the quote that "print-based, written language is valuable form of representation." Print-based written language is a primary form of communication but is also a way to document history. 

2. Find an image, symbol or motif and upload it to your blog.

3. Conduct a content analysis:  

• What do you see?
light posts, bridge, building, water (river), fence post, bushes, side walk

• What is the image about?
This is a photograph of a bridge in Paris, France.

• Are there people in the image? What are they doing? How are they presented?
There are no people in this image.

• Can the image be looked at different ways? Explain how the image might be interpreted from two different socio-cultural perspectives. Which perceptive is dominate? 
The image a photo taken in Paris, France which a different cultural of it's own. Paris represents a higher social class, sophistication, elegance, city, and high quality. 

• How effective is the image as a visual message?

     It is very effective as a visual message, because it draws you to the colors, the shadows, the shapes in the photo.

4. Conduct a visual analysis: Use the Chapter on Elements of Art, Design and Visual composition to assist your visual analysis. 

• How is the image composed? What is in the background, and what is in the foreground?
The image is composed of lines, shapes and size. The light post makes a long vertical line in the photo and is a focal point. The shape of the building makes it look like it is in the background. The foreground in this photo is the light post.

• What are the most important visual elements in the image? How can you tell?
The most important visual element in this image is photo is the use of color or lack of color. The use of black and white conveys the light and darken in the photo as well as the time period.

• How is color used?
The photograph is black and white. The black and white photo conveys that it was taking in a historical time period. According to the Serafini text, the color black represents scary, dark moods, night and depressing. The photo to me represents a dark and gloomy day.

• Can the image be looked at different ways?
Yes, this photo can be looked at in different ways. One way is that you pay attention to the light post, if you look at it again you notice the building and the river. 

• What meanings are conveyed by design choices?

        The orientation of the photo is vertical. The vertical design of this photo draws attention to the light post.

References:

Images: Charles Marville [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Arts_et_M%C3%A9tiers_%28Ancien_Mod%C3%A8le%29.jpg

Serafini, F.,(2014). Reading the Visual: An Introduction to Teaching Multimodal Literacy. Teachers College Press: New York.